Seeing Eli
by MyTrainDance27
Summary: Clare and Eli haven't seen each other since 10th grade, when they split ways after Eli moved away, but what will happen when Clare is introduced to her friend Allison's new boyfriend... Eli.
1. The Meeting

**Narrative POV: **_**Chapter 1 – The Meeting**_

Clare tugged on KC's arm as he shot yet another basketball into the hoop above the waxy gym floor.

"KC? Are we going yet? We're supposed to meet Allison and her new beau at 7:00 and it's already..." She trailed off to glance at her neon purple watch. "It's already 5:30," she continued, "we need to go or we'll never make it."

KC shot her a glance and she stuck her tongue out playfully at him. He raised his eyebrow suggestively and she met his stare. "Well?"

He let out a long sigh before dropping the basketball he was holding onto the cart.

"Alright, let's go."

Clare grinned triumphantly as KC looped an arm around my waist. They walked out of YMCA with small smiles placed on our lips.

KC and Clare approached the restaurant slowly and as they got nearer to the doors KC clasped his hand over hers and squeezed tightly. It was these moments that made Clare smile at how comfortable she and KC were with each other. It's not like they made out in public, in fact they were very chaste about their public affection for each other, but it was the little things, like when KC intertwined his fingers with Clares as soon as he saw her everyday or when she pushed the bangs out of his eyes whenever Clare saw he was getting frustrated, that made people look at them in wonder. How did they get so lucky? Many people stressed the subject but it was actually very simple. KC and Clare were just happy.

They entered the cozy italian restaurant and were soon greeted by a thick-mustached man.

"May I take your coats?" he asked with a heavy accent.

Clare nodded her head shyly and was soon being stripped of her heavy winter coat.

"Your table is right this way," he told them as he gestured to a booth in the back of the restaurant. Clare could see Allison talking rapidly to someone with dark brown hair as she quickly spotted them and waved her hand, inviting them to the table.

KC was at Clare's side as they walked to the booth, his hand still grasping hers. Allison smiled brightly and stood up, smoothing her ruffled skirt.

"Clare!" she yelled excitedly. "I'm so glad you decided to come!" As she finished hugging Clare, she side-stepped to KC and took his hand in a shake. "KC," she said politely. Clare rolled her eyes. Why Allison didn't like KC was a mystery to her, but she never pushed it.

Allison let go of KCs hand and turned around to put a hand on the shoulder of the dark-brown-haired boy. "Guys, this is-"

The boy stood up and Clare took a quick intake of breath. "Eli," she breathed out.


	2. Seeing Her

**Narrative POV: **_**Chapter 2 - Seeing Her**_

_Flashback..._

_How many times had he thought about her that day? Ten, twenty, one hundred? He couldn't even count. She occupied his mind 24/7. If it wasn't how beautiful she looked that day, it was recapping the most recent flirty banter that had occurred between the two or digging deep into the conversations they'd had talking about her homework. He knew that she liked him and was waiting for him to make the first move, but he wanted to wait and see what happened, to find the perfect opportunity to proclaim how he felt about her, to tell her how much she meant to him, to tell her how much he lo-_

"_Hey, Eli." Eli was snapped out of his trance as someone covered in a soft floral scent came up to him._

"_Hey, Clare," he responded, trying to act nonchalant to keep up his perfectly cool attitude. _

_Clare stood by Eli's locker awkwardly, waiting for him to continue talking, but he had busied himself with putting his books very slowly and carefully into his locker. Clare sighed deeply, waiting for Eli to get the message and look at her. He didn't. She rolled her eyes before walking down the hall to her own locker. Clare shoved her books angrily into her locker before yanking on her skirt and rushing into the girl's bathroom. Why did Eli have to be so damn stubborn all the time? She knew she really liked him, and it's not like she was that discreet about it, but it looked like Eli was either the dumbest or most selfish man she had ever met. Clare pressed her knuckles into her eyes to stop herself from taking the situation too far. Tonight was the big Degrassi dance, and she was determined to have fun. _

_End of Flashback..._

**Eli POV:**

"Hi, Clare." My hands were shaking slightly in my pockets and my knees felt weak. How did Clare get here? The shock was tearing open my very heart, but I managed to keep it in, I had to keep up my cool attitude, after all.

**SORRY READERS! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE FAVORITES! I WILL BE UPDATING MORE THIS WEEKEND, SCHOOL HAS JUST BEEN REALLY HECTIC THIS WEEK. **


	3. Stealing Glances

*** Hey, hey, hey readers! Sorry I haven't updated in forever, but... at least I'm updating now! Anyway, I'd just like to say that Jenna will not be featured in my story, so please, just pretend she didn't ever exist and that Clare and KC broke up because they just weren't getting along as well. **

**Narrative POV: **_**Chapter 3 - Stealing Glances**_

_Flashback..._

_Tonight was the night. The Degrassi dance was the perfect setting for Eli's plan. Why would there be a better way of telling Clare how he felt than to wrap his arms around her waist during a slow dance and whisper it in her ear? It was perfect, and Eli could barely wait for the two hours to pass before he could drive up to the high school and whisk Clare off her feet. _

_Clare, on the other hand, was feeling the exact opposite of what Eli hoped. She was beyond pissed and had made a promise with herself to avoid Eli at all costs. She was going to enjoy this dance. _

_Clare and Alli entered the dance floor together, their arms linked. Clare had hoped that Alli would stay by her side for at least the first five minutes of the dance, but she wasn't expecting it to happen and soon Alli was being pulled away by Drew, a slight twinkle in his eye as he looked her up and down. Clare could tell from the way his smile relaxed and he easily wrapped his arm around Alli's waist that he did in fact care for her and it made her smile to think that Alli had finally found someone who really cared about her._

_After Alli had officially been "datenapped" by Drew, Clare took a quick glance around the dance floor and instantly spotted Adam and Eli leaning casually next to the drink table. Clare's heart fluttered faster and she quickly pinched herself, trying to get her unpredictable feelings for Eli to go away. It didn't work. She knew she was eventually going to end up going over to Eli, so she figured why not get it over with during the beginning of the night? _

_She had just begun walking purposefully towards Eli when a calloused hand wrapped itself around her wrist, stopping her. Her soft blue eyes stared into a pair of dark... brown eyes. _

"_What do you want, KC?" she asked him. Not harshly, but... tiredly. After their break-up Clare really didn't want to talk to him. _

"_Can I have this dance" he asked her shyly, oblivious to her hesitation of even talking to him. _

"_What are you talking about?" She had been too busy worrying about how to approach _

_Eli, that she hadn't even noticed that a slow Fray song had come up on the speakers. _

"_Um, I was just wondering if you wanted to dance with me. I mean, you don't have to..." He trailed off uncomfortably, shoving his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. _

_Clare studied her fingers uncertainly. She was on her way to go see Eli... But then again, he was being weird about where they stood. She thought that they were on the way to SOME type of relationship, but he hadn't approached her yet, so why should she? She smiled at KC and took his hand. "Sure." _

_He smiled widely and led her onto the dance floor. They reached the middle and KC placed his hands on Clare's waist as she laced her fingers around his neck. They both started swaying to the music and soon Clare became comfortable enough to lay her head down on his shoulder. Clare was relaxed and now that she was this close to KC, she only had one thing on her mind..._

"_KC, why did you break-up with me?" she asked him quietly. _

_KC stopped dancing for a moment before resuming their slow sway. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "I guess I just felt like we weren't really a couple anymore." _

_Clare sighed into his shoulder. "But KC, we could have worked that out, we could have figured out the real problem..." _

_KC tightened his grip on Clare's waist and let go of the breath that he was holding in. "I'm really sorry, Clare. I shouldn't have just... dumped you like that." He said that last part through his teeth, still beating himself up. _

"_You're right, you shouldn't have." She answered him smartly, finding it easy to point out that he had been wrong. _

"_I know that know, Clare, and I was wondering.. if there was any chance that you and I could start up again?" He whispered the end of his sentence hopefully. _

_Clare chewed on her lip and tilted her head back so she could look at KC. "I don't know, KC..." Her mind drifted to Eli and she immediately looked to the drinks table. He was staring at her intently, but he made no move to come up to her, though she knew that he could hear their conversation. _

"_Maybe." She finally said. "Why don't we talk about it later? I'll meet you outside of the school after the dance." Her heart still screamed Eli, but now that she knew that he didn't like her, she was going to use every opportunity to have a regular high school social life. Clare brought her arms back to her sides and KC stuck his back in his pockets. _

"_I'll talk to you later, KC." She said, before walking away to find Alli. _

_**Eli POV:**_

_What was happening? Why was Clare even thinking about getting back together with that dumb football player? _

_He still had a goofy smile plastered to his face. He didn't deserve to wear that smile. I deserved to wear that smile. My heart was pounding a mile-a-minute and I felt like going up to the bastard and punching right there. But I didn't. That wouldn't solve anything. I had to find Clare. _

**Okay, now I know that chapter may have not been the best and Clare does talk to KC really quickly, but I had a serious case of writer's block and this was my only outlet. If you'd like to help me out, you're welcome to.**


	4. And Now We're Talking

**Okay, now this is ridiculous... Why am I even updating? It's been about nine months since I've updated. Who says I even have people who are still reading? Whatever, I'm still going to update... I hope SOMEbody reads it ;)**

**No POV: Chapter 4 - And Now We're Talking...**

Clare smiled uncomfortably at Eli as she and KC sat down in the booth across from Allison and Eli.

"Clare?" Allison raised her eyebrows and gave Clare a pointed loo. "How do you know Eli?"

Clare gulped nervously, and then let out a weak laugh. "We, uh... Eli used to go to Degrassi," she finished lamely. She turned to KC, hoping to gain some reassurance that this night would end up okay, but all she saw was KC's eyes slowly filling with recognition.

"Hey, you're that guy that had that big fight with Fitz during sophomore year!" (**a/n: **I know Eli's is supposed to be older, but for the sake of the story, I need him to be the same age as KC and Clare) "Dude, that was... that was ridiculous!"

Clare turned a light shade of red and elbowed KC in the ribs. "KC!" She whispered heatedly. "What are you doing? That fight was horrible! Don't bring it up!"

KC shifted his eyes downwards and mumbled a quick 'sorry' to Eli before wrapping an arm around Clare's waist and giving her an apologetic glance. Clare rolled her eyes at his actions, but didn't remove his arm from around her waist.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table and no one said anything until Allison reached out for her glass of Coke and accidentally knocked it onto Clare. Everyone was still, too stunned to move, and then Allison jumped out of her seat. She pushed KC out of the way to hurriedly wipe some paper napkins against Clare's shirt, muttering apologies. Clare gently removed Allison's hands from her body.

"Al, really, it's okay. Let me just go to the bathroom." She brushed her hand against Allison's shoulder and then continued on to the bathroom.

She stood in front of the mirror, dabbing a wet paper towel against her delicate floral shirt. She was focused solely on getting the brown stain out of her clothing, that she didn't hear the door of the bathroom open and close.

"Club soda."

Her head snapped up to the mirror, and she saw that Eli stood behind her.

"What?" She whispered, barely making it a question.

"Club soda." He said again, taking a step closer to her. "It gets out practically everything."

Clare turned around, her hands gripping the sink behind her. "Eli... I didn't know you were Alison's..." She trailed off, not sure if she could say the next word.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I didn't know you were Allison's friend. I don't if I would've come... if I did."

Clare's heart chipped slightly as he uttered the last sentence and her hand slipped slightly. "Oh... Yeah, I guess I might not have come either."

Clare thought she saw a flash of disappointment flash across Eli's eyes, but she pawned it off as a trick of the light. "Hey, so what are you even doing here? In the bathroom?" She tried to smile, but it ended up more as a grimace.

He gave Clare a small smirk before jutting his shoulder towards the door. "I was actually going to the bathroom, but I just wanted to tell you that... I didn't come tonight to hurt you." He lowered his gaze to his shoes and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Clare let out a sad sigh. "It's okay. Let's just get through the rest of the night." Clare threw the rest of her crumbling paper towel into the trashcan and made for the door. She was stopped by a coarse hand grabbing hers.

"Clare... I'm dating Allison and you're friends with Allison. We're going to see each other again after this... Things need to okay." He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes and he gave her another small smirk. He let go of her hand and brushed past her, leaving the bathroom. "I'll see you back at the table," were his parting lines.

Clare leaned against the doorway and let out a sigh. She didn't know if she was going to survive this.

*** Hey, now I promise I'll never go SO long without an update again, but I can't promise quick updates. I get distracted pretty easily. BUT if you leave me lots of reviews, I might just update more quickly.**


	5. Authors Note

*Authors Note

I am extremely ashamed to say that the inspiration for this story has mysteriously exited my brain and I am discontinuing it. If anyone would like to adopt it, I have no problem with that, just tell me who you are. I am very sorry to say that I can't continue this story, but please look forward to other stories in the future.

Thanks for reading

MyTrainDance27


	6. Authors Note: NEW AUTHOR

**Authors Note**

Hi!

I'd just like to say that my story has been adopted by **danceratheart**, so I suggest you check out what they do with it


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